Enough, Alisa Amador (from the Thirty Tigers release Multitudes)
If I’m honest, I’m really skeptical about music competitions. Call me idealist, but I think the music industry is tough enough already and pitting artists against one another is counterproductive.
That said, watching Alisa Amador win the NPR Tiny Desk Contest is somewhat reassuring. It’s wonderful to see a talented artist recognized, all the better that she’s from Boston. And now we get even more great music from her in the form of her debut album.
Multitudes is warm and refreshing, even when Amador sings of self-doubt and heartbreak. “I Need to Believe”, a foot-tapping indie pop song, finds Amador questioning her future in music:
All of the cruel lies I hear myself say, throw them away
I need to believe, I need to believe
That there’s nothing wrong with the songs
In “Enough”, Amador describes coming to terms with a broken heart. The pained lyrics are set against a melody that is surprisingly uplifting, all the more so when piano and strings join and take the song to greater heights. “Now all that’s left is what you said and it’ll have to be enough,” she reflects, “and all that I wish that I had said, it’ll have to be enough”.
A number of songs are sung in Spanish, including album closer “Milonga accidental,” the song that propelled her to Tiny Desk success. The finer of these are more rooted in folk, showcasing another facet of her songwriting and story.
Multitudes is an exciting introduction to a new voice in Boston… and beyond.
Autumn Letter Buffalo Tom (from the Scrawny Records release Jump Rope)
It may be summer but Buffalo Tom’s latest is getting us ready for fall. The band have long excelled at painting vivid musical landscapes that are prime for that season: Weathered, melancholy, and often nostalgic.
One need look no further than “Autumn Letter”, which ruminates on the passage of time and coping with the inevitable adversity that occurs along the way. “When our callow youthful forsakes us we’ll be left out in the hail,” sings Bill Janovitz, “and our hungry souls will cast us on the trail.”
These moments of reflection, both of self and others, permeate Jump Rope. “Your vitriol’s insufferable but it won’t beat the clock,” warns Janovitz on “Our Poverty” while fellow songwriter Chris Colbourn contemplates the change that happens over time on “Recipes”, sharing “I saw Steve Winwood in the rain; He said that things don’t stay the same.”
Elsewhere the group reflects on pandemic isolation with “You’re On” (“Couldn’t barely wait, tried to isolate, we’re camera-ready spotlight profiteers”) and the toxic political climate with lead-off track “Helmet” (“Put your helmet on ‘cause we’re going through hell”). They even offer a summer song, albeit one dripping with melancholy with “In the Summertime”.
Musically, acoustic guitars are in the forefront, a sharp contrast to the band’s history of intense electric guitar-driven songs. Nonetheless, the songs on Jump Rope still pack an emotional punch – exactly what one wants and expects from Buffalo Tom.
Right Side of the River, Lisa Bastoni (from the self-released On the Water)
It shouldn’t be a surprise to learn that Lisa Bastoni won the prestigious Kerrville songwriter competition a few years ago. She has a tremendous talent for bringing together a lyrical eye for detail, thoughtful storytelling, and captivating melodies to create songs that captivate with their warm and intelligence.
Bastoni kicks off the album with “Right Side of the River”, a water themed exploration of romantic relationships. “For every bleeding heart on the bank there is a sinking stone,” she sings against a cheerful but insistent musical backdrop, “for every little flat rock skipped, somebody’s feeling alone. ” As the song progresses, Bastoni describes the feeling of being overwhelmed by the relationship but ultimately finding a way forward, “I’ve been worn down by the water and the wind, I’m coming up and breathing again”.
The gentle ballad “Cheap Wine” debates the decision to choose love over money. A restrained pedal steel adds to the melancholy as Bastoni reflects, “we’re still drinking the cheap wine after all this time and it makes me wonder if I’ve done something wrong”. She ultimately decides that the decision was the right one, declaring “just because there’s a ladder doesn’t mean you have to climb”.
Things get even more somber on the emotional “Only Goodbye”. Mournful pedal steel guitar and regal piano combine with dramatic effect as Bastoni strikingly describes the pain of temporarily separating from a loved one:
I wish I could stay here
And see you tomorrow
I wish I didn’t feel this
September sorrow
I look out your window
It’s all sidewalks and rain
And too many days
Til I see you again
Which isn’t to say that Bastoni doesn’t have a little fun on On the Water. She gets a bit funky on “Waxwing” and goes country on “Let’s Look at Houses”. The latter song is particularly entertaining view on a relationship, to wit:
I’d do anything for you except get a divorce
Let’s get it on all morning like the teenagers we were
Let’s hold each other’s hands as if we’ll never get bored
Let’s look at houses we know we can’t afford
On the Water is Bastoni at the top of her game, an album both moving and entertaining.
Feels Like the First Time, Dinty Child (from the self-released Letting the Lions In)
One need look no further than the guests who appear on his latest album to understand that Dinty Child is a mainstay of the Americana scene in Boston and New England. Among the 13 artists who make appearances on Letting the Lions In are musicians Zachariah Hickman (Josh Ritter, Ray LaMontagne, Rodney Crowell) and Sam Kassirer (Josh Ritter) and solo artists Kris Delmhorst and Ali McGurk, to name just a few. And why wouldn’t they want to join the musical party – Child’s love of music is infectious.
Among the album’s finer moments are a pair of songs that speak to the power of music and its impact on artists and fans, alike. Album opener “Witness” is a restrained but regal consideration of the connection that people can – and do – have with music. “But that song of yours that’s in my head it got me through my week,” proclaims Child, “And everybody here has got a story just like me”. Later, on the pop gem “Feels Like the First Time”, Child reflects on the joy of music and songwriting:
The world don’t need another song it’s true
But if I wrote another one for you
It can’t be wrong if it makes you sing along
Child channels Brian Wilson on the immensely catchy “Again and Again”. “The Last One”, a song about either savoring the moment at a bar or regretting the decision the next day, mines similar 1960’s pop territory. “My regrets all took a number, they’re standing patiently in line,” admits Child on the latter song, “I tell them it will never happen again until the next time”.
He wraps up the album with a great pair of duets. “Light the Fuse”, featuring Ali McGurk, is raw and brooding in its saga of a relationship at an incendiary tipping point. Album closer “Little Things”, featuring Annie Lynch, chronicles insecurity in a relationship. Child sings, “Couldn’t help but notice all the little things you never say,” only to find out that, spoiler alert, the anxiety is warranted.
Skinny Lady, The Bluest Sky (from the self-released raindancer)
I’ve long been a fan of singer-songwriter Chuck Melchin. I first encountered him with his atmospheric and acoustic project Bean Pickers Union, followed him through his acoustic duo Los Brujos, and am now excited by his rock-oriented project The Bluest Sky.
The group’s sophomore album finds Melchin and company really finding their groove with a sound that calls to mind Uncle Tupelo or early Wilco and Son Volt. The songs range from ragged rockers like “Skinny Lady” and “Queen of the Sick Burn” (which sounds like a Rolling Stones Let It Bleed outtake) to gentle ballads like “This Is What Poets Mean” and “The Weight of Being”, both of which recall his classic Bean Pickers Union sound.
In-between are a host of relaxed and free-wheeling mid-tempo rockers. In this category are songs like album opener “Battlefield” and “Girl From My Building”, both of which find Melchin’s acoustic guitar backed by a tasty electric guitar and a stout rhythm section.
Part of what makes raindancer special is the musicians, some of New England and Nashville’s finest, who help bring Melchin’s songs to life. They musically walk the fine line between precision and abandon, giving Melchin’s songs extra bite.
Root Cellar, Ward Hayden & the Outliers (from the Faster Horses Recordings release Live in Sweden)
Americana in Europe? You better believe it, as New England country & Americana group Ward Hayden & the Outliers demonstrate on their forthcoming live album, appropriately titled “Live in Sweden”. The group has spent the past several years spreading the gospel across the continent and capture some of that magic on this career-spanning collection. They kick off with the old school and raucous “Root Cellar” from 2011’s Sweet Nothings, followed by that album’s “Mary Anne”. They shift later in their career with a feisty take on “Rock and Roll” (from 2016’s Love and Protest) before highlighting a trio from Free Country and South Shore, their most recent studio outings. They close out by going back to the early days with “Soft Raccoon” from 2007’s Pretty Little Wrecking Ball. My only complaint? We need more US shows.
Sweetheart, Speedfossil (from the Sonic Escort release Room with a Vu, Volume 1)
It’s hard to wrong with classic power pop, and that’s exactly what Speedfossil deliver on their latest EP. Opener “Sweetheart”, sets the stage brilliantly with its catchy melody and blaring electric guitars. “Magic Trick”, which Twangville premiered last fall, and the more brooding “Frozen Drops of Fire” don’t let their upbeat rhythms mask more serious lyrics about coping with loss. “irl” finds the group riffing on technology and how it promotes fantasy and disconnect before closing with the harmony-laden ode to lost love “And you can’t forget her, love is not forever.”
FROM THE ARCHIVES
It Ain’t What You Think It Is / Brokenhearted I Will Wander, Dennis Brennan (from the Hi-N-Dry Records release Engagement)
Dennis Brennan is a Boston institution. For years he has graced stages across town in bands of various incarnations, regularly drawing crowds of music fans and artists, alike.
I’ve recently been revisiting his 2007 release Engagement. It’s a tremendous showcase of his music range and talent. The first half of the album contains studio versions of then new songs while the second half features live recordings of older songs and a few choice covers. Brennan and his crack band move effortlessly from R&B (the equally wonderful “When You Were Loving Him” and “It Ain’t What You Think It Is”) to rock (“Sugar Falls” and “Brokenhearted I Will Wander”) to country (“Personal Assistant” and “Crying on the Avenue”) and all parts in-between.
Brennan closes the album with a triumvirate of covers that demonstrate his well-studied appreciation of music history – Merle Haggard’s “You Don’t Have Very Far To Go”, Woody Guthrie’s “Hard Traveling”, and Charlie Rich’s “Feel Like Going Home”. Yet, what stands out even more about these covers is how, when placed alongside the 13 original tracks on Engagement, they showcase the brilliance of Brennan’s songwriting.
About the author: Mild-mannered corporate executive by day, excitable Twangville denizen by night.